No. 5 Iowa State (21-11, 9-9 Big 12) blew past No. 4 Baylor (19-13, 10-8) 83-66 in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals in front of a Cardinal and Gold dominated crowd.
It was a team effort from the Cyclones in the opening game of the Big 12 tournament, as four players (Talen Horton-Tucker, 21, Marial Shayok, 18, Lindell Wigginton, 16, Tyrese Haliburton, 13) scored in double figures and all 11 available Cyclones saw the floor.
Iowa State was red hot from three in this one. The Cyclones cashed in on 13-25 attempts, a 52 percent clip, and 30-58 from the field.
To go along with ISU’s impressive offensive performance, the ISU defense clamped down, especially in the second half. Iowa State held a good three-point shooting Baylor team to just 9-25 from deep and 25-58 from the field. They also turned Baylor over 14 times.
The exclamation point of the game came when Tyrese Haliburton knocked down a 35-foot three with the shot clock expiring late in the second half, which put the Cyclones up 83-61.
The first half was back and forth between the Cyclones and the Bears. ISU recaptured the lead with just over five minutes to go in the first half. The Cardinal and Gold closed the first stanza out on a 14-5 run and held a 38-29 advantage at the half.
After allowing the Bears to hit on five straight possessions early in the first half, the Cyclones adjusted and held Baylor to just 5-16 shooting for the rest of the half while also forcing five Baylor turnovers. The Bears were scoreless in the final 2:18 of the first half.
